Gazprom Neft’s lubricant sales stood flat last year because of Russia’s stagnated industrial output and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on both domestic and foreign markets, according to the company’s annual performance report.
In 2020, the company sold 301,000 metric tons of what it calls premium lubricants, down from 302,000 tons in 2019. Its combined sales of base oils and finished lubricants fell 6% to 440,000 tons, down from 470,000 tons in 2019.
Despite the pandemic, Gazprom Neft expanded to some international markets, notably in Southeastern Europe, the company said in the report. In 2020, it shipped its base oils and finished lubricants to 96 countries, up from 80 countries in 2019. Many of the new destinations are in the Balkans.
In 2020, Gazprom Neft modernized a lubricant blending plant in Serbia, located at Petroleum Industry of Serbia’s refinery in Novi Sad. The revamped plant has capacity to produce 30,000 tons of finished lubricants. The Russian oil major is the majority owner of NIS, holding 56.15% of its shares, while the Serbian state owns 29.87%, and the remaining 13.98% is held by minority shareholders.
The lubricants produced in Novi Sad are meant for the markets of Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary and Macedonia. The company plans to expand its sales in the neighboring countries of Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Slovakia and Slovenia.
In 2020 the company expanded its international marine oil sales and launched supplies to Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Greece, Malta, Panama, Romania and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, the company’s exports of aviation oils increased by 25%.
Gazprom Neft is the third-largest lubricant supplier in Russia after Lukoil and Rosneft.